Rubber golf tee with hollow base



Dec. 1, 1953 P. J. BARNARD 2,661,213

RUBBER GOLF TEE WITH HOLLOW BASE Filed Jan. 2, 1951 TAT-romnY Patented Dec. 1, 1953 UNITED STATES T' E-NT OFFICE RUBBER GOLF TEE WITH HOLI-JOW BASE Paul J. Barnard, Rockford,-.lll.

Application. January 2, 1951, Serial No. 2034981 (Cl.-i273*33) 2zClaims. i

This invention relates to golf tees made of yieldable material such as rubber and having a hollow base adapted to support a golf ball while resting directly on the ground surface.

The general object of the invention is to provide a tee of the above character whichis of simple and rugged construction, which permits of proper contact under all conditions between a ball supported thereon and a golf club face, and which enables a golf ball tobe supported at a substantially uniform height from an uneven or grass-covered ground surface.

The invention also resides in the novel construction of one side of the base and the bottom thereof to achieve the foregoing objects.

Other objects and advantages of'the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of the improved tee.

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary-bottom view.

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views taken respectively along the lines 4-4 and '5-5 of Fig. 3.

As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the improved tee comprises generally a post if] upstanding from an enlarged base ll which is connected at its periphery with one end of a flexible element or band 12, the other end of which is attached to a weighted disk 13 around which the tee proper swings as a golf ball I4 is driven from a cup l5 in which the ball is supported on the upper end of the post H3. Preferably, all of these parts are formed in a single integral piece by molding from relatively live and readily flexible rubber or equivalent plastic material. In order to minimize the sizeof the weighted disk, a piece of metal may be molded therein.

The major portion of the periphery ofv the. base I lis an are it concentric with the axis of the post it) and extending more than a half revolution around the latter past the end of the band l2 and to points ll substantially alined with one edge of the band. The radius of the arc 1'5 is approximately equal to or slightly larger than that of an ordinary golf ball. The remainder of the base periphery is a chord I8 spaced from the axis a distance substantially less than the radius of the ball Hi so as to be disposed out of contact with the face of a golf club head as the latter strikes the ball in its sweep close to the ground surface.

The top surface of the base i l slopes upwardly quite sharply from the chord l8 as indicatedat 9. The remainder of the top surface 25! is-a shallowconical frustum'merging gradually with the-bottom. of the post It which may beformed with a shallow peripheral groove 2| *to increase 1 its flexibility.

To enable the golfball to be supported.- securely ongrassor uneven ground surfaces, the base H is made relativelyflexible and adapted for ,engagement .with the ground mainly around its periphery. This is accomplished by forming a Lbase is adapted: to flex readily and thus adapt itself. automatically to unevenness of the ground surf-ace without appreciable tilting of the ball supporting. cup [5.

OnJthe underside, the base is reinforced to withstand the: severe bending stresses incident 'to-tdriving' the supported golf ball while still preserving theover-allflexibility of the tee. Herein,

this.is zaccomplished by three radial ribs 23 and 24 integral at theirv outer ends with the bead 22 :andajoined together .at the center of the base, .theloweredges'of the ribs lying-in the-same plane asthe. bottom of the bead. The rib 23 extends perpendicular to the chordal portion of the'beadxZZ so as to lie parallel to the line of night of the driven ball and therefore in the planes-in whichv the tee is tipped and bent as an incident. to driving the ball. The other two-ribs M are'spaced equidistantly from each other and iithe points I! so as to trisect the arcuateportion of the bead'22'. forced effectually to -withstand the bending stress :.:involved;while at. the same time the forward edge aportiomof the base reinforced by the ribs 2 l.is adapted to bend. readily as required toenable :the ball torbe driven. from the cup; 15 without The base H is thus reininterference. by the lip of the cup or any ten- 1 dency: to :bezidefiected from the line of flight determined by the motion of the club head.

The. downwardly: opening recesses thus formed in-the :bottom. ofr'the base between thev ribs .23 and: 24:; anditheebead 22 afford space; for receiving grass blades and thus permit the head 22 to come into contact with a firm ground surface. To obtain such contact on a grass-covered surface, the tee may be twisted back and forth as the base is pressed against the ground, the grass blades thus becoming packed into the bottom recesses. In this operation, the rim 22 of the flexible base adapts itself automatically to the contour of the ground and becomes supported flrmly with the post It] disposed substantially in upright position so as to support the ball properly in spite of the grassy or uneven character of the ground. For the same reason, the ball becomes supported at a uniform height above the ground surface proper irrespective of variations in the height of the grass.

Between the cup I5 and the base II, the post I is of reduced diameter to correspondingly decrease the resistance of the post to bending in releasing the ball from the cup while at the same time providing sufiicient strength to enable the cup enlargement to be withdrawn from the mold. Herein, the diameter is smallest substantially midway between the ends of the post and increases progressively in opposite directions to the top of the base and to a narrow cylindrical band 25 around the lip 26 of the cup I5. By thus forming a peripheral groove around the post, the latter may be grasped and held readily between the middle and forefinger of the users hand while the latter is holding a golf ball seated in the cup. With the tee and ball thus held, pressing of the tee base against the ground in the manner described above and placing the ball on the tee are eifected in a single simple operation.

Owing to the ready flexibility of both the post I0 and the base II and of the cup lip 26 due to the narrowness of the band 25, the ball supporting cup I may be made somewhat larger in diameter than in ordinary rigid golf tees without increasing to any appreciable degree the resistance offered by the tee.

The link I2 is made very flexible and attached to the base II so that the link does not in any way interfere with positioning of the tee proper as described above. To these ends, the link is made relatively thin and flat with its underside surface spaced above the plane of the bottom of the base as shown in Fig. 5. In this position, that portion of the link adjacent the head 22 does not engage the ground surface or prevent full engagement of the bead and the ground. 0-wing to the ready flexibility of the link, the remaining portion adapts itself to irregularities in the ground adjacent the tee proper without any tendency to tip the latter.

In the use of the tee above described, the base I I is pressed firmly against the ground surface so as to locate the cup I5 substantially horizontally and thus adapted to hold a ball securely at the desired height above the ground. The link I2 is extended along the ground with the weight I3 disposed on the side of the tee opposite the golf player. The side of the golf ball which is struck by the club head thus overhangs the chordal edge I 8 of the base a substantial distance as shown in Fig. 2. As a result, the moving club head engages the ball first even in the case of a relatively low swing. Thus, the ball is always supported properly at the time the blow is struck.

Although holding the ball securely under the widely varying conditions which may be encountered in use, the tee offers Substantially less re- .4 sistance than prior tees to the release of the ball from the cup I5 when the ball is struck by the club. This is due to the combined flexibility of the parts as above described which permits the post I 0 to tilt forwardly due to its own yieldability or by bending of the base II. Substantially the full impact of the club is thus available to propel the ball.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Serial No. 62,108, filed November 26, 1948, now abandoned.

I claim as my invention:

1. A golf tee molded from rubber and comprising a shallow frusto-conical disk-like flexible base, a post upstanding from said base along the axis thereof and terminating in a cup for receiving an ordinary golf ball, the periphery of said base being defined in part by an are concentric with said axis and in part by a chord spaced from said axis a distance less than the radius of said ball so as to be disposed out of contact with the face of a golf club striking a ball supported on said cup, a bead extending around and depending from said base around the entire periphery thereof, angularly spaced ribs depending from the bottom of said base and radiating from said axis to said bead, one of said ribs being integral with the center of the chordal portion of said bead, a weight adapted to rest upon the ground at a point spaced from said base, and a flexible band connecting the outer peripheries of said base and said weight with the lines of connection disposed above the planes of the bottom surfaces of the base and Weight, said band extending substantially parallel to said chord.

2. A golf tee molded from rubber and comprising a shallow frusto-conical disk-like flexible base, a post upstanding from said base along the axis thereof and terminating in a cup for receiving an ordinary golf ball, a bead extending around and depending from said base around the entire periphery thereof, said head being of reater width than the thickness of the adja-- cent part of said base, angularly spaced ribs depending from the bottom of said base and radiating from said bead, a weight adapted to rest upon the ground at a point spaced from said base, and a. flexible band connecting the outer peripheries of said base and said weight with the lines of connection disposed above the planes of the bottom surfaces of the base and weight.

PAUL J. BARNARD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain 1905 

